Into Great Silents

As promised in this week's "8 Days a Week," some additional detail about upcoming silent film events around the area. (A post which perhaps should be titled: everything I write is too long, and maybe I ought to reconsider my "style".)

Sheer coincidence or hip fad? We don’t know, but Maine’s about to get
silent film crazy.

The
action begins at the Meg
Perry Center
on Friday, January 25, when Tempera, Over a Cardboard Sea, and Northern B
Stars score a variety of short silents (cowboys westerns, Russian 8mm
films, and orginal footage) in a concert to benefit the venue. It begins at 8
pm on 644 Congress St.,
entry is by donation. Call 207.615.3609 for details.

Also this
week, One Longfellow Square
begins an exciting four-part series of local musicians playing original scores
to classic silents. It begins with the inestimable Samuel James playing along
with one of the great silent comedies, Buster Keaton’s The General, wherein
Keaton proves that he is the Bill Murray of the 1920s. Look for future installments
with Tempera and some
assembling of the Cerberus Shoal crew in the months to come. The General screens at 8
pm, January 30th and 31st. Tickets are $8, call 207.761.1757 for more
information.

Next
week: DJ Spooky’s remix of the D.W. Griffith’s racist landmark Birth of a Nation, coming to Bates
College February 2nd, and
the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ hop on the bandwagon at the Merrill
Auditorium February 8th. Also, as part of this year's "Longfellow Days" festivities, there'll be a February 9th screening of Uncle Tom's Cabin with live music at the Eveningstar in Brunswick.